My grandpa passed away last year. I was close to him and I miss him so much. He never got to meet my fiance -- he knew we were dating but they never got to meet. It makes me really sad to think he won't be there.
I had an idea at the ceremony to have a seat "saved" for him, next to my dad (his son), with a big framed picture of my grandpa on the seat. It'd make me really happy to look out and see his face.
I mentioned it in passing to my stepmom, who thought it was a lovely idea. But then she said, "Are you going to do that for your other grandparents?"
On one hand, my other three grandparents passed away when I was a preteen or younger, and to be totally honest, I just wasn't very close to them. I have fond memories of them (of course!) and I loved them, but I didn't feel the way I did about my grandpa. I was devastated when he died.
But on the other hand, the last thing I want to do is disrespect my parents or the memory of my grandparents. I just don't know if my plan is disrespectful.
My options as I see it are:
1) Do a "reserved" seat at the ceremony only for my grandpa. This may hurt my mom and dad or be disrespectful.
2) Do a "reserved" seat for all four.
3) Have a little table set up somewhere at the reception with some kind of "For those who are missed," with pictures of all my grandparents on it, as well as other people close to me and my fiance who have passed away. This doesn't honor my grandpa quite as much as I'd like, but it's probably the option that has the least potential to cause hurt feelings.
I don't want to be an a-hole to my parents. My instinct is maybe to scrap (1) and (2) and just set up the remembrance table.
I'd appreciate any thoughts. Thank you!